Author: Jennifer Garner

Mississippi lawmakers banned adoptions by same-sex couples in 2000. Yesterday, Judge Daniel Jordan, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, issued a preliminary injunction ruling in favor of same-sex couples and finding that Mississippi’s ban on allowing same-sex couples to adopt “violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.” Judge…

Transgender Public Accommodation Bill activists have secured the support of nearly 200 businesses and organizations, more than a dozen police chiefs, and the state’s congressional delegation. Still, despite the Bill’s rapidly growing support in Massachusetts, which, as of late includes New England’s top professional sports teams, the Transgender Public Accommodation Bill still sits in limbo…

Late last year, we outlined “The What, Where and When of the Massachusetts Trans Public Accommodations Bill,” which would offer protections to transgender and gender non-confirming individuals in places open to the public. The Massachusetts State legislature did not vote on the Bill before its winter recess in 2015. However, Senate President Stanley Rosenburg and House Speaker…

Before same-sex marriage became legal, couples across the United States searched for ways to protect their bond from the often harsh results of a lack of recognition. One of the ways couples achieved some recognition of their relationship and protection for their partners was through legal adoption. The older member of the couple adopted the…

In 2011, Massachusetts lawmakers passed H3810, An Act Relative to Gender Identity. The law added gender identity as a protected characteristic to Massachusetts anti-discrimination and hate crimes law with respect to housing, employment, credit and public education. An Act Relative to Gender Identity was, undoubtedly, a huge victory for the transgender community, but it contained one…

After the United States v. Windsor decision, many people expected that the demise of DOMA meant that same-sex married couples would enjoy federal recognition and benefits that they were previously denied. While that was true in some respects, two major federal benefits remained out of reach for many couples.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits hiring and employment discrimination on the basis of various characteristics, including a person’s sex. However, Title VII does not explicitly mention gender identity or sexual orientation as protected characteristics, and there are no other federal laws that explicitly protect LGBTQ employees from discrimination.

On July 15, 2015, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission delivered a monumental ruling establishing that workplace discrimination against lesbian, gay, and bisexual people constitutes gender discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In Complainant v. Foxx, the complainant, who was a Federal Aviation Administration temporary front line manager in Miami,…

When same-sex marriage became legal in North Carolina, magistrates were told that their oath of office required them to fulfill their duties to any couple who possessed a valid marriage license. In response, at least one magistrate resigned. Senate Bill 2, seemingly introduced in response to magistrate resignation, made quite a splash in North Carolina.…

Ian Miller, who was an attorney for Zara, USA, filed a lawsuit alleging that he was harassed and terminated for being Jewish, American, and gay. Mr. Miller claimed that he was excluded from meetings, given smaller raises than his co-workers, and was subjected to racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic remarks and actions. According to the complaint,…